Cries of Blood
Written by Violetofen4 Chapter 1 - Kramer "There is no more Kristina." she growled. The words flung against me like a million needles. What did she mean? But she turned away from me again, dazed and confused. I sucked back tears. "Kramer!" Xena called from somewhere nearby. "Leave me alone! I hate you, I hate everyone!" Kristina snapped. I don't think she even recognized me. What happened to my sweet little girl, what turned her so profound and hateful in nature? Blustering with grief, I tried not to howl out my pains as I exited the room. Xena was standing there, one arm against the wall, looking startled. "Why did you bring Richtofen back!? You don't know what Alois will do if we keep him alive..." Xena stammered, adjusting her black robe. I shook my head. "Xena, I couldn't bear to see him die. I would feel guilty the rest of my life, don't you have sympathy for your fath-" She cut me off: "I don't care about him anymore! He's not the same father from when I was eight! He's a madman who should be in an ASYLUM, Kramer, an ASYLUM!" I narrowed my eyes. "If you don't want to see him in public then we'll keep him somewhere else safe, okay? Somewhere in the hidden hall where Arluin and Aviine are!" "Near my children!?" '' "''What ''harm could it do him? He needs something to lighten up his life, you have no idea what he's been through." I argued, but I could see easily this wasn't going to go anywhere. "What about what I've been through? You saw what happened to Kristina, it may look bad now but wait until Alois comes and takes her away again? The same will happen to her. He's obsessed, Alois is, with having supernatural children. He's determined to mindwash her into a SLAVE like he tried with me, and you have to be more understanding! It's going to happen unless you step up and protect her. She's still in there, she's been mindchipped if it wasn't evident!" I paused in silence. Mind-chipping. I knew too much of that. Richtofen, Groph, Schuster, Peter, Harvey, all mind-chipped before. "So does that mean that Adelina, Lilith, all of them are likely mindchipped too?" I asked. "Yes. If..." "If Adelina is alive." "If." We exchanged a long glance of silence. Chapter 2 - Kramer Richtofen was doing much more well than ever before. Much better. He no longer had voice parasites, but he was missing a leg that got replaced with a 116-powered one. He doesn't speak much but when he does he seems dull, but that's okay, I know he'll pull through. "Attention! All Eternal Sanctuary members to the lobby! We don't want Alois' gang to kill us, do we?" Darkbloom calls through the speakers. I walk over to Xena, who is tucking her children into bed. She looks up at me and smiles. "I'll be there in a second, Arluin is just falling asleep," she whispers. I nod and return to where Richtofen is sitting in his chair. His arms are flat on the sides of the chair in an eerie manner, and his eyes are closed. I think he's asleep. But that pose... ''Lilith was screaming and crying for Richtofen to come back. The teleporter had seized him, and he was gone. Adelina tried to comfort her but Lilith refused to cooperate. We waited three days for him to return. All the while 935 was silent. '' ''Maxis and I were working on a prototype Ray Gun that could counterattack currents of 115 and prevent zombification. Then we heard the teleporter activate. "Richtofen!" I said aloud, sudden joy filling me. When I turned around, he was standing there, ravaged, scarred, and overall traumatized. "It's all dark...it's all dark..." he moaned, and passed out. We treated him, but we wouldn't let Lilith in. I felt bad for doing so but I was nervous that she might freak out if he didn't acknowledge her. The next morning we allowed her to see him. He was in a chair in the corner, eyes dull and nearly lifeless. He didn't move, as if in some sort of sandman trance. In that same pose. "Edward, I'm so happy you're okay!" she whimpered, and reached her hand out to him. But he didn't respond. "Is something wrong?" Lilith murmured. Richtofen still did not move. "Please don't do this to me! Are you in there!? What happened to you!? Please! I want to help you! I love you!" she began crying. Richtofen was a statue of grief and trauma. "It's all dark...it's all dark..." he whimpered through clenched teeth. Then he didn't say anything else. Lilith stared in awe, and I walked towards her. "We don't know what's wrong with him, we'll figure something out. He's in some sort of traumatic faze, we'll get him to talk it out even if it means desperate measures." '' Richtofen looks up and grumbles, "What? I was sleeping." He slowly staggers to his feet and stands, crossing his arms. "So...what now?" "We have to go the lobby," I responded, then began to walk away. He huffs and begins to follow a bit grouchily. "I bet it's Alois again." Richtofen jabs with a slow-coming grin, "I'd like to strangle that blue-eyed clown." "Yeah," I agree, "he deserves it." As we assemble, we see that Alois isn't here. Or at least not in the room. I don't think Richtofen's paying attention to that. I don't think he likes Eternal Sanctuary the same way I do. But Darkbloom keeps talking. "Alois has called for Erhoffen, Katya, and Richtofen. Everyone else can stay here. You three, enter the Night Hall and meet him in Room A5. Good luck. As for the rest of you...we're going to..." I didn't listen any further. At this point Xena was right next to me and Richtofen grew a little wary. What we entered was not a room, but a door to the outside. There stood Alois' transportation truck, and immediately we were locked in eyes. Xena stiffened, ready to retrieve her pocket knife from her back pocket. I know she keeps one close. "Oh, hello Alois," I growl. "What do you want now, haven't you done enough since highschool?" Richtofen adds. I'm surprized at how cool he's keeping, just with narrowed eyes and a steady attitude. "I want to bargain with you Kramer. Just a fair trade to get back the things you stole from me." Alois replies. "''Stole?" '' "You give me Arluin and Aviine, then I'll give you this. Boys, bring out the prisoner." Xena grabs my arm when Alois turns away to see what's coming. "Never, Kramer, whatever he offers you can't let him take my children!" Xena whispers desperately. Her voice is staggering with pain. "He won't have them, I promised you I'd keep them safe." I growl back. Beside me I hear Richtofen breathe in hoarsely. From here, something inside of me absorbs and feels his grief echoing off of him. The 'prisoner' he brings is Lilith. Xena speaks my thoughts. "Mom?" she asks, voice choking up. Lilith has her hands chained behind her back, in a simple grey dress. "Don't do it Kramer, don't trade for me. It's a trap!" my friend screeches. She has that same cloudy look that Kristina has, but a little lighter, as if in control. Richtofen doesn't speak, I think he's lost in a state of grief and fury. "Shut up, you!" Alois takes the strange cane in his hand and whacks her across the legs. She crumbles to the ground silently. Richtofen snaps at that point. "Keep off her!" he shrieks. "No, Edward, don't!" I hiss, but it's too late. Lilith screams something that I don't understand, and Alois opens the cap of his cane to a glowing yellow light, blinding. That same light from before...when Richtofen saved me. Alois jabs the cane up to Richtofen's forehead. I can see it clearly now. It's electrified on the top, with a sizzling power. Richtofen stops. I can see him go totally stiff and frozen to the spot. Alois withdraws and laughs, putting his cane back to where it was even with his feet. My best friend stumbles to the ground, lets out a terrified scream, and lies so still, faintly breathing, eyes wide awake and wild with pain. "What have you done, you bastard?" I yell at Alois. "I mindchipped him, that's all there is too it. Just like I did Peter and Harvey. It's a simple process. Now I'll double bargain, if you want them both you'll have to chip in Xena and my children." I began to walk forward, and crouched beside Richtofen. He stared back at me, I could see the dullness beginning to creep into his eyes. "It's not worth it, leave me, Kramer. I'm a dead man anyways." Richtofen rasps between unsteady breaths. "Not to me you aren't." I stand back up and face Alois. "Come at me." I growl. "What the hell are you doing!?" Xena snaps. Lilith looks up from where she had fallen to her knees, confused but desperate. Alois laughed. "Looks like I'm adding Kramer to my collection of slaves, too! What fun!" Alois muses, then opens the tip of his cane. My hands act before my mind, and I punch it out of his grip, then zap his arm with it. He squeals then puts a hand to the burn mark. "How about this deal-you give both of them to me for free, or I'll see about torturing you with this," I say in a mocking manner, snatching the can and pointing it at him. Alois looks outraged but in his eyes I can see he's defeated. "No way, I'll never give in!" Alois laughs. Richtofen stiffens from where he lay again, and I think Xena has crouched by him. 'Alois, you'll give them back or I'll lead a raid and free all your prisoners!" Xena hissed. Alois is stricken, and I smirk. Finally, I thought, you'll give in. "Why not kill him now? Then destroy his home, and take everything he stole from ''us?" I laughed. "Mercy, please, mercy!" Alois cried out. "Did you show Xena mercy? Did you show Edward mercy? Did you show my wife mercy, back in highschool? Speaking of Adelina, where is she?" I asked him with a snarl. Alois suddenly has a sick grin on his face. "You'll find out yourself soon enough." Xena yells, "Kramer, it's not worth it yet, leave him be! Let's head back inside where he can't hurt anyone else!" I sigh and begin to walk towards my comrades. Xena and Lilith are crouched over my best friend, whose cries have fallen silent, in unsteady breaths. Alois stares at us once more, staggering to his feet, then begins to stalk away with a wicked laughter. Chapter 3 - Richtofen Darkness. I think I screamed, but I couldn't tell. I tried again but my lips could no longer move. My head was burning, and a hissing sound in the back of it buzzed in my ears. I used the last of the strength in my throat to whimper. That's all I could do now. My arms went stiff and numb. My eyes can still see but they can't change their movement. I'm staring straight ahead. Was Lilith worth this? No, I can't think that. Of course it was worth it. I couldn't see my love pained any longer. She's sobbing for me, and I think Xena went to get help. Kramer looks concerned and worried. I don't really care about Kramer. He's always the hero, I don't get any recognition when I saved him from Maxis-no I don't want to think about it. My vision is beginning to get hazy. Adawolf binds my hands behind my back. I don't know why. "It's going to be okay, Richtofen, we're going to find something that'll free you." Kramer murmurs. Lilith gets support from Xena, from here I can see she's limping from a broken shin. At least she didn't have her leg cut off like me. That sucked. They tie me upright in a chair, my arms are untied but bound again to the seats. I can't move. They bind my neck too, probably to keep the "mindchipped me" from killing them all. That'd suck too. But now the darkness filters my view, and I no longer see them. Everything's blurry. It's dizzying to look, but I'm in a shadowy forest. I can walk! Nothing's cleary visible. I stumble, dragging myself through the dusty ground. "Geez, I had to end up in a dump like this?" I stand back up, and I no longer see blurrily. Instead I see Adelina. Chapter 4 - Richtofen "Ha," I laugh, "Now I know this is a dream." "No Edward, you're not dreaming." Adelina sounds irritated but amused. I narrow my eyes as she reaches towards me. "Hey, back off, I'm not the hugging type!" "I'm not trying to hug you, I'm just trying to see your forehead. Only those who are mindchipped come here. Did Alois shock you with his cane?" "Er...yeah. So what?" She laughs like there's no tommorrow. Her long brown hair bounces off and on her back. Cackling as if the world made sense. Confused, I leaned against a tree. "How long do you plan to laugh dramatically?" I asked. She stops, then stares at me in puzzlement. "Well, I'm going to take that as a yes. Well, welcome to the club. How'd Alois get you? What'd he assign you to be? I'm his maid, I hate it too," she said cheerily, but then groaned. "Oh, he didn't capture me." I replied. "Please sit down, then we'll get more on this subject." Adelina asked. I rolled my eyes and slowly sat down. She seemed like her normal jittery self. I probably seemed like a grouch to her, but I didn't really care. Never liked her much anyways. Felt she was possessive. Kramer probably feels the same about Lilith, too. So I can't really complain. "So...where are you right now? How'd mindchipping feel? Hurts, huh?" "Slow down. I'm at Eternal Sanctuary, with Xena and Kramer-" "Kramer!?" she yelped, then let out a gasp. "Where is he!? Tell him I'm at Alois'! I need help immediately before my scheduled death date!" Adelina continued babbling on. I groaned again. "How can I tell him, I'm mind-chipped, remember?" I mused. She rolled her eyes. "Wow, you don't get around much, do you? After the 115 incident, you have the ability to think-beyond." "Think-beyond, the hell?" "Think-beyond. Close your eyes and relax..." My eyelids closed. I breathed in deeply and slowly, then I woke up. Everything around me was crystal clear for a few seconds. Lilith was no longer in the room, and nor was Xena. But Kramer was, he was talking to Adawolf. "I think I fixed him, Darkbloom. He's stopped breathing so harshly..." I zoned out of Kramer's voices about heroism again. Jealousy and fury burned inside of me. Oh, so he thinks he's so great!? "Stop being such a cocky ass, Kramer, and go swallow some chill pills." I snapped. His blue eyes sparkled with mischief, and he sighed in relief. "Same old, same old. You recovered quickly, Lilith got so worked up, Xena had to help her to the spare bedroom." Kramer said with a smile. Great, I'm a labrat. "Oh yeah? Adelina got so worked up about you she nearly teared me to bits." I replied with my sharky grin. Kramer suddenly stared at me, his eyes boring into mine. I guiltily smiled. "Whoops, did I say Adelina? Oh wait-yes. I did." I continued. "Where is she!? Alois, if he's done anything to her then I'll-" "Don't get so worried now, Erhoffen." Adawolf acknowledged. "Stop calling him that Adawolf, it's annoying." I snarled back at my cousin. "My name's no longer Adawolf, it's Darkbloom." "I don't care! I-" I was cut off my the dizzying darkness. "Darkbloom, what's happening to him!?" Kramer yelped, suddenly worried. "It's sucking...me...back!" I croaked, struggling to stay in. "I don't want to stay with Adelina, she's annoying and pushy!" I whined. Kramer seemed outraged. "If you can be an inside voice, maybe you can uprise the enslaved in Alois' territory! You can do it, Richtofen." Kramer hissed. I couldn't speak anymore, whimper, complain. I got swirled back into the dizzying darkness. Chapter 5 - Kramer The next day buzzed by fast. I couldn't sleep, I was too worried for my wife. All I could think about was her. Lilith came in and sat with Richtofen while he was still in what I call his "dream-state". However he managed to communicate with Adelina, I was grateful for it, even if I had to force it out of him, I had to help her. Richtofen woke up again. He glared at me. "So you drugged me to keep me out longer?" he spat. "Edward!" Lilith cried, and threw her arms around his neck, kissing his cheek. I could see his face turn red, and I smirked, raising my eyebrows. He wasn't looking at me. "I would love to go outside and burn Alois further Kramer but you tied me down." he growled back. "As long as you can talk to Adelina, I'm fine with keeping you tied there." I chuckled back. He seemed annoyed. "Yeah, how long do you think I can talk to her when her death is scheduled for next month?" Everyone fell silent. "What?" I shrieked. Lilith broke into sobs. "Weeeeellllll, you asked. Either you can cure me from being sent to the torture of her girly babbles and gossip or you can let her die in the hands of Alois Annelis. Your choice, not mine. I don't get a choice since you tied me to a chair!" Richtofen countered. He fizzled with hatred. Somewhere inside of me, my heart burned. "I'm going to get...get some fresh air." I choked. Lilith followed me out the back door. I could see through the window that Richtofen burned out again, his eyes were clouding over again. "You can't keep him like that forever, you know." Lilith told me, her eyes full of hopeless despair. I somehow felt sorry for her. "I know, Lilith, but Adelina, if she's going to die we have to save her. I'll be miserable forever without her!" "Look, now you know for now she's okay. If we cure Richtofen he can lead us to her!" "That's not a bad idea." "Dad?" Kristina's voice breaks the silence. She's leaning in the doorway, her eyelids half-drooped, but her blue eyes are no longer clouded. She's combed back her black hair and looks relaxed. Suddenly the sadness leaves my heart for just a moment. "Kristina?" I echo back. I walk towards her, and she groans. "How long was I asleep?" she mumbled. I bent down slightly and wrapped my arms around her comfortingly. "Sweetheart, you were asleep a long time, but you'll be okay now." I whispered. And I knew she would. I just knew. Chapter 6 - Kramer MORE COMING SOON